About the Book

Most people would feel a great loss if elephants, rhinos, or gorillas were to become extinct, but would we willingly move our families, change our means of earning a living, and disrupt our culture to prevent their extinction? People living in rural Africa are being asked to do just this by the world community. The Myth of Wild Africa explores a joint African/Western approach to conservation with the goal of returning control to the African nations.

About the Author

Jonathan S. Adams is a conservationist and writer living in Washington, D.C. Thomas O. McShane is program officer for Africa in the World Wide Fund for Nature.

Reviews

"The vital position of Africans in effective conservation has not been well described for the Western public, and The Myth of Wild Africa takes an important step in redressing this lack of understanding. For anyone interested in the realities of conservation, it is a book well worth reading."—Dr. Amy Vedder, Biodiversity Program Coordinator,Wildlife Conservation Society

"A thoughtful and important examination of . . . the fatal fallacies of old-style conservation. The relationship between wildlife and people in Africa is as old as our species itself. The future of both must be taken into account together. Required reading for anyone who has ever cared about one or the other."—Thomas E. Lovejoy, Assistant Secretary for External Affairs, Smithsonian Institution

"I've never read any single other volume that has had as much impact on the problems, politics, and policies—and possible solution—of conservation in Africa."—Gary C. Clarke, Director Emeritus, Topeka, Kansas Zoological Park